This invention relates to shielding devices for protection against small arms projectiles and blasts.
In law enforcement and military operations, it is desirable to protect personnel from projectiles such as bullets, fragmentation shrapnel and blasts which may come their way from criminal, terroristic, military or other armed threats or explosives. Frequently these threats may be concealed behind cover or concealment associated with buildings, barriers or structures encountered in raids, searches, warrant service, assault barricade incidents or the like. Where physical structures must be breached, it is also frequently necessary to have breaching equipment, such as ladders or other means, to facilitate human access over obstacles or spaces, both vertically and horizontally.
The need for both shielding against projectiles and blasts, as well as for portable ladders and the like, burdens personnel who are already laden with weaponry, munitions, radios, personal body armor, lights and other equipment. Moreover, there is also a need for equipment to facilitate entry into buildings.
Both shields and collapsible ladders are known. One such ladder is manufactured by Foldable Products International Inc. of Canada, marketed as a QUIKSTEP(trademark) ladder, and used by the U.S. Army. This ladder is about six feet tall and may be collapsed into a compact condition which is the size of a briefcase and may be easily carried from place to place. Such a ladder is commonly used in fire and rescue operations because it is portable and may be easily stored in a compact, limited area. The QUIKSTEP(trademark) ladder is also used in the military and law enforcement industries to scale obstacles like walls, to climb to the upper floors of a building quickly and safely even in remote locations, to traverse spaces, and for other movement where an elongated support is helpful.
When the QUIKSTEP(trademark) ladder or other like collapsible ladders are used by law enforcement personnel in raids, warrant service, searches, arrests or the like, any bullets or projectiles fired from inside the building or structure may pass between the rungs or steps of the ladder and may injure the individual on the ladder. In addition, should a bomb or other blast explode from inside the building the projectiles resulting from the blast will pass between the rungs of the ladder and injure the individual on the ladder. Thus, while the ladder facilitates human movement, it does little to protect against projectiles and blasts.
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams have been implemented in large and small cities alike throughout the world, in response to terrorism and criminal threats. In addition to other law enforcement personnel, SWAT teams need ladders to effectively accomplish their objectives. One of the more dangerous and difficult situations involving these teams is the approach to a structure such as a building in which may include armed parties are barricaded. Uncertainty of threats from heights such as the upper floors of a building are particularly dangerous.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,882 discloses a ballistic assault ladder and system for use by such SWAT teams in order to provide members of the SWAT team protection from projectiles. This patent discloses a rigid noncollapsible ladder and a rigid ballistic shield mounted to the front face of the ladder. The rigid ballistic shield has a hole therethrough for the user to look through. It is formed of a material resistant to projectiles and the like such as, for example, KEVLAR(trademark), SPECTRA(trademark) or another similar material.
One difficulty with the ballistic assault ladder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,882 is that it is bulky and cumbersome. Because it is rigid and cannot be collapsed, it is difficult to transport the ballistic assault ladder from one location to another as is often necessary in the circumstances under which the ladder is utilized.
Therefore, it has been one objective of the present invention to provide a portable ballistic barricade which incorporates a lightweight, collapsible ladder which may be quickly and conveniently transported and assembled.
It has further been an objective of the present invention to provide a portable ballistic barricade incorporating a relatively impervious ballistic shield in combination with a portable, collapsible ladder.
To these ends, a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a portable ballistic barricade made up of two elements: a portable, collapsible ladder and a ballistic blanket. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cballistic blanketxe2x80x9d refers to a non-rigid ballistic shield capable of stopping projectiles from small arms fire, personnel munitions and blast effects of the type which might be encountered in the instances noted above.
Any collapsible ladder may be used in accordance with the present invention. However, one specific ladder which has proven satisfactory is the QUIKSTEP(trademark) ladder manufactured by Foldable Products International Inc. of Canada. The ladder has a plurality of slots therein adapted to receive straps of the blanket in order to removably secure the blanket to the ladder.
The blanket of the present invention is removably secured to the ladder. A plurality of straps which form part of the blanket are passed through the slots in the ladder rails, wrapped around the ladder and secured, thus forming the one-piece portable ballistic barricade, and serving also to maintain the ladder in an extended condition. One side of the blanket of the present invention has a plurality of pockets adapted to store and house additional straps. Such straps comprise stretcher straps which are used to secure an injured person to the barricade in stretcher-like fashion.
The blanket includes an external cover which is preferably made of nylon but may be of other suitable materials. Inside the cover one or more ballistic panels are inserted and form an integral part of the blanket. These panels are held in the blanket by stitching, discrete pouches, or any other suitable manner.
The blanket is collapsible along with the ladder, therefore the entire ballistic barricade may collapse into a size smaller than a suitcase in less than five seconds, for easy transport. In addition, once at the desired location the portable ballistic barricade may be quickly and easily assembled by deploying or erecting the ladder, causing the blanket to expand to its fully deployed position along with the ladder.
If desired, the portable ballistic barricade may be carried by personnel as a shield. The barricade then constitutes instant cover should the users be caught in the open under fire. The ladder is preferably six feet in length, and the barricade provides cover for numerous officers in a queue or xe2x80x9cstick.xe2x80x9d
Another use of the present invention is as a bomb blanket should a suspicious device be encountered. In this event, the blanket may be quickly separated from the ladder and the blanket placed over the bomb or suspicious package.
Yet another use of the portable ballistic barricade of the present invention is as a stretcher or litter. Elongated straps located in the pockets of the blanket may be undone and wrapped around an injured individual, who is placed on the blanket side of the barricade and supported in part by the ladder. Once strapped onto the barricade, the injured individual may be quickly and easily transported. To facilitate transport, separate handles from a tool kit, not part of this invention, may be secured to the ladder.
The blanket has a relatively large footwell bag at the bottom thereof which opens outwardly away from the ladder and is adapted to receive the feet of an individual lying on the barricade when the barricade is used as a stretcher. Use of this footwell bag enables one person to quickly remove an injured or incapacitated individual from a threat area, the feet being supported in the footwell at a lower end while the upper end is pulled by the operator. The blanket is quickly and easily removable from the ladder and may be rolled into the footwell bag and secured therein with fasteners in order to quickly and easily transport the blanket separate from the ladder.
The blanket of the present invention has at least one, preferably removable ballistic panel operatively disposed therein for protection against projectiles. Any number of ballistic panels of numerous materials may be incorporated into the blanket of the present invention. The ballistic panels provide protection and cover against small arms fire and blasts.
By incorporating different materials of differing thicknesses into the interior of the blanket of the present invention, different results may be achieved as desired. Thus, a custom-made product for a specific use may be accomplished. Also, the ballistic panel can be removed from the blanket and retained for cover purposes while the blanket cover is used with the ladder as a stretcher.